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A lorry driver who was typing on his phone when he ploughed into the back of a tractor has been jailed for two years and four months.

Michael Morton had been driving a lorry one-handed while using his other to read and reply to texts and search the internet on his smartphone.

He was travelling at a speed of about 50mph – near the top speed possible in his vehicle – when he failed to see a tractor in the same lane until the last second.

Morton's vehicle smashed into the rear of the tractor, which was towing machinery, and then careered into the central reservation before eventually coming to a stop in the incident on the A38 near Little Eaton on January 12.

Michael Morton

The tractor driver – a 58-year-old man – was thrown from his cab and suffered multiple serious injuries. He was airlifted to the QMC in Nottingham and was treated for injuries including six broken ribs, spinal fractures and a lacerated scalp.

Morton, from Alder Way, Shirebrook, admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving and was today jailed for two years and four months at Nottingham Crown Court on Monday, July 10. He was also banned from driving for four years and four months.

The 45-year-old's sentence comes on the first day of a week of campaigning, aimed at reminding drivers about the dangers of using a phone while at the wheel.